I first read The Phantom Tollbooth in Grade 5 or so, I think. I didn't like it.
I therefore don't know what possessed me to take it back out from the library in order to re-read it. But I did. It sat there for a bit before I got to it.
But WOW. I'm so glad I re-read it. I think I'd put it in the top ten best books I've ever read. I think I'll likely read it many more times, as I feel there is so much more to get out of it. The way Juster writes is just magic. His imagination to create this world is incredible. I couldn't pick out my favorite part, because each and every sentence makes you think and wonder. Everything he wrote just made me gasp and laugh and reflect - it's brilliant start to finish.
Maurice Sendak (author of Where the Wild Things Are) says in the introduction that "The Phantom Tollbooth is concerned with the awakening of the lazy mind." I love this, as I think it's an excellent way to sum up how I feel after reading it.
Oh. And The Pilgrim's Progress by Paul Bunyan is on my to-read list - I have a beautiful old copy of it to read. Maurice Sendak recommended it to me...
Title: The Phantom Tollbooth
Author: Norton Juster
Published: 1961
Pages: 256
Total Books Blogged: 28
Total Pages: 7,853
Wednesday, 29 April 2015
Monday, 27 April 2015
Completed: What I Eat - Around the World in 80 Diets by Peter Menzel & Faith D'Aluisio
This is one of those books that has inspired me. I think great books either really make you think, really make you take action, or really make you feel. This one falls into the second category - it really made me take action.
This book surveys, as a photographic art project, a day's food for 80 people - men, women, and children - from all over the world. I believe the only Canadian was a teen from an earth-hugging vegetarian family in Quebec. I was impressed to see her eating paneer!
The American 'days' were horribly depressing. Processed meat and foods. Pop (sorry - soda). Candy. Empty carbs. Artifically-pumped-up beverages of all sorts and varieties. A large slab of bologna. The only redeeming person from the whole country was a Hispanic lady who owned a restaurant - her food looked awesome. But it made me realize I want my home to be more reflective of the diversity of colour, flavour, texture, and taste of the world. Though we already eat very well - almost everything from scratch, lots of fruit and veggies - there is so much to explore in terms of cuisine from various cuisines around the world. All of the food from Mexico, China, Vietnam, Iran, Palestine, India - it all looked so incredibly delicious.
So. Yet again I have fallen victim to the library. I started with India, and have three different cookbooks out. I dragged my whole family to Fruiticana market in order to get the proper spices (the ones I didn't already have, like curry leaves), and various dals. This weekend I made potato curry and coconut curried lentils and cilantro carrots and it was all awesome! I'm so glad my kids love Indian food too.
I want to do some southeast Asian cooking too - stir fries, green veggies, and Pho. Looking at other peoples' diets made me want to actively enrich my own, despite being in a good place compared to many of those with whom I share a continent (the guy whose only daily vegetables were half a can of peas, for example).
Read this book. It'll make you realize how much more is out there to explore!!
This book surveys, as a photographic art project, a day's food for 80 people - men, women, and children - from all over the world. I believe the only Canadian was a teen from an earth-hugging vegetarian family in Quebec. I was impressed to see her eating paneer!
The American 'days' were horribly depressing. Processed meat and foods. Pop (sorry - soda). Candy. Empty carbs. Artifically-pumped-up beverages of all sorts and varieties. A large slab of bologna. The only redeeming person from the whole country was a Hispanic lady who owned a restaurant - her food looked awesome. But it made me realize I want my home to be more reflective of the diversity of colour, flavour, texture, and taste of the world. Though we already eat very well - almost everything from scratch, lots of fruit and veggies - there is so much to explore in terms of cuisine from various cuisines around the world. All of the food from Mexico, China, Vietnam, Iran, Palestine, India - it all looked so incredibly delicious.
So. Yet again I have fallen victim to the library. I started with India, and have three different cookbooks out. I dragged my whole family to Fruiticana market in order to get the proper spices (the ones I didn't already have, like curry leaves), and various dals. This weekend I made potato curry and coconut curried lentils and cilantro carrots and it was all awesome! I'm so glad my kids love Indian food too.
I want to do some southeast Asian cooking too - stir fries, green veggies, and Pho. Looking at other peoples' diets made me want to actively enrich my own, despite being in a good place compared to many of those with whom I share a continent (the guy whose only daily vegetables were half a can of peas, for example).
Read this book. It'll make you realize how much more is out there to explore!!
Title: What I Eat - Around the World in 80 Diets
Authors: Peter Menzel & Faith D'Aluisio
Published: 2010
Pages:329
Total Books Blogged: 27
Total Pages: 7597
Monday, 20 April 2015
Reading out loud: Bedtime with my kids
As long as I have known my sons, I have read to them before bed. They brush their teeth, they curl up with myself and/or D on our bed, and we read to them.
The past year or so, we have moved on a bit from picture books. G is ten now; J is 7. Both still love a few of our story books, and we read them occasionally. But they now have both the attention span and desire to have longer books read to them. The first of these was Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King, and we have since read several others - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Witches, and Kai: Ninja of Fire (a novel based on the Lego Ninjago series). Currently we are reading How to Steal a Dragon's Sword from the How to Train Your Dragon series.
I originally did not include these in my blog but then I thought - why shouldn't I? Even more than the novels I read by myself, I read each and every word of these out loud, very carefully (and doing all the voices!). They are just as much a part of my repertoire as everything else I read.
So! Here a smidge on each book:
Nicholas St. North: Amazing! What a brilliant young-adult book. The author has done others, and I would love to read them - just haven't made the time yet. This one's inspiration is 'St. Nick', or father Christmas. There is one about the Easter Bunny as well, and several others besides. SUCH a great book. I don't even remember where we got it, but I wish I could let them know how much we loved it!
The Witches and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Roald Dahl is incredible. The boys loved Charlie, and they liked The Witches, though they found the witches a bit scary (as did I! I forgot that some parts were quite graphic...). They got a boxed set of his collected works for Christmas. Also a somber reminder to all of us: His daughter was lost to measles at just 7 years old. Vaccinate!!
Ninjago's Kai: Ninja of Fire: Not the worst thing I've ever read, and thankfully short. The kids enjoyed it...?
Completed:
Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King by William Joyce and Laura Geringer
The Witches by Roald Dahl
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Lego Ninjago - Kai: Ninja of Fire by Greg Farshtey
Altogether now:
Pages: 228 + 201 + 180 + 74 = 683
Total Books Blogged: 26
Total Pages: 7,268
The past year or so, we have moved on a bit from picture books. G is ten now; J is 7. Both still love a few of our story books, and we read them occasionally. But they now have both the attention span and desire to have longer books read to them. The first of these was Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King, and we have since read several others - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Witches, and Kai: Ninja of Fire (a novel based on the Lego Ninjago series). Currently we are reading How to Steal a Dragon's Sword from the How to Train Your Dragon series.
I originally did not include these in my blog but then I thought - why shouldn't I? Even more than the novels I read by myself, I read each and every word of these out loud, very carefully (and doing all the voices!). They are just as much a part of my repertoire as everything else I read.
So! Here a smidge on each book:
Nicholas St. North: Amazing! What a brilliant young-adult book. The author has done others, and I would love to read them - just haven't made the time yet. This one's inspiration is 'St. Nick', or father Christmas. There is one about the Easter Bunny as well, and several others besides. SUCH a great book. I don't even remember where we got it, but I wish I could let them know how much we loved it!
The Witches and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Roald Dahl is incredible. The boys loved Charlie, and they liked The Witches, though they found the witches a bit scary (as did I! I forgot that some parts were quite graphic...). They got a boxed set of his collected works for Christmas. Also a somber reminder to all of us: His daughter was lost to measles at just 7 years old. Vaccinate!!
Ninjago's Kai: Ninja of Fire: Not the worst thing I've ever read, and thankfully short. The kids enjoyed it...?
Completed:
Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King by William Joyce and Laura Geringer
The Witches by Roald Dahl
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Lego Ninjago - Kai: Ninja of Fire by Greg Farshtey
Altogether now:
Pages: 228 + 201 + 180 + 74 = 683
Total Books Blogged: 26
Total Pages: 7,268
Monday, 13 April 2015
Completed: Where I Belong - Small Town to Great Big Sea by Alan Doyle
Oooooh I do love me a good autobiography or memoir. Getting to enjoy someone's life with them is just brilliant, and Doyle sure tells a story. His childhood in rural PEI is a perfect story for a good Canadian read.
Alan Doyle today is the lead singer of Great Big Sea, one of my all-time favorite bands. This made me tremendously nervous to read the book - what if I liked him as much as I liked A. J. Jacobs?
I need not have worried. If anything, I'm even more enamored with the band, knowing where some of the songs came from. That they perceive "Ordinary Day" as a song that changed their lives (p. 282). I've found some new music (Berry Picking Time, and the band Wonderful Grand Band, one of their inspirations). Hearing about how important writing a hockey tune was (my kids love 'Helmethead').
Some wonderful takeaways from Doyle's life:
On why to own a painting: "Because it will make [a] home a happier place." (He met the painter Jean Claude Roy when he came to paint Petty Harbour - it made such an impact on him that he bought that very painting years later and it hangs in his home). (p.29-31)
On what work is, for Sean McCann's father: "Nobody works for you and you don't work for nobody. You only work with people." (p.109)
On how to approach each day: Doyle is talking about his parents when this thought came up, and it's my new motto for every bad day I'll have - take it with you, too:
"Spend exactly all of your time making the most of what you have and exactly none of your time whining about what you don't have." (p.14).
I'll try, Alan. Thank you for your story. Write another one, please?
Title: Where I Belong - Small Town to Great Big Sea
Author: Alan Doyle
Published: 2014
Pages: 308
Total Books Blogged: 22
Total Pages: 6585
Alan Doyle today is the lead singer of Great Big Sea, one of my all-time favorite bands. This made me tremendously nervous to read the book - what if I liked him as much as I liked A. J. Jacobs?
I need not have worried. If anything, I'm even more enamored with the band, knowing where some of the songs came from. That they perceive "Ordinary Day" as a song that changed their lives (p. 282). I've found some new music (Berry Picking Time, and the band Wonderful Grand Band, one of their inspirations). Hearing about how important writing a hockey tune was (my kids love 'Helmethead').
Some wonderful takeaways from Doyle's life:
On why to own a painting: "Because it will make [a] home a happier place." (He met the painter Jean Claude Roy when he came to paint Petty Harbour - it made such an impact on him that he bought that very painting years later and it hangs in his home). (p.29-31)
On what work is, for Sean McCann's father: "Nobody works for you and you don't work for nobody. You only work with people." (p.109)
On how to approach each day: Doyle is talking about his parents when this thought came up, and it's my new motto for every bad day I'll have - take it with you, too:
"Spend exactly all of your time making the most of what you have and exactly none of your time whining about what you don't have." (p.14).
I'll try, Alan. Thank you for your story. Write another one, please?
Title: Where I Belong - Small Town to Great Big Sea
Author: Alan Doyle
Published: 2014
Pages: 308
Total Books Blogged: 22
Total Pages: 6585
Monday, 6 April 2015
Completed: Packing for Mars - the Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach
I have never read so much about poop in my life!
I have to commend Mary Roach for taking on such an interesting project - the mundane details of a spectacular career. Being an astronaut is one of the careers children dream about - but they certainly don't think of the logistics of going to the bathroom or taking a shower, or eating low-flatulence foods.
I'm not a huge fan of Roach's writing style - I feel sometimes like she is trying too hard to be funny or witty. But the subject matter kept me going. I don't think it's for the delicate who don't wish to discuss intimate details of hygiene! I don't have too much more to reflect on it, other than that I am now sure I would not relish life as an astronaut...
I have to commend Mary Roach for taking on such an interesting project - the mundane details of a spectacular career. Being an astronaut is one of the careers children dream about - but they certainly don't think of the logistics of going to the bathroom or taking a shower, or eating low-flatulence foods.
I'm not a huge fan of Roach's writing style - I feel sometimes like she is trying too hard to be funny or witty. But the subject matter kept me going. I don't think it's for the delicate who don't wish to discuss intimate details of hygiene! I don't have too much more to reflect on it, other than that I am now sure I would not relish life as an astronaut...
Title: Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void
Published: 2010
Pages: 321
Total Books Blogged: 21
Total Pages: 6277
Completed: Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman
I was checking online as we were heading to the library, on our accounts, to check what needed to head back. I couldn't, for the life of me, find one book. Our library helpfully (or not) calls most of the books in the kids' section "Children's paperback" if they happen to be a paperback in the kids' section. So, I was faced with number 93873834 "Children's paperback". I could not find it. We searched the car, the kids' backpacks, and their rooms. I checked the library shelf three times over. No book.
So, later last night I was working on my stamp collection (yes, I'm a proud dork) at my desk, and suddenly, I noticed Fortunately, the Milk sitting there, waiting to be blogged. I had taken it on a trip to a friend's wedding, and finished it in about half an hour. But I hadn't gotten around to blogging it. I checked the top - 93873834. Yay! Book!
So I will quickly blog this book so that it can go back to the library prior to having fines attached to it.
I will precurse this review by saying that I have never read any of Neil Gaiman's books for adults. I picked up this book to see if G might like it, as his avid love of reading shows no sign of slowing down.
It was just OK. The story was a bit generic and lacked creativity. However, the artwork was incredible, and so for that alone I would recommend picking it up. It is short and sweet - I was very glad to have brought a second book on my trip, as I hadn't realized quite how quick a read it would be (I'll blog the other one soon, as I finished it as well!).
Favorite little bit of the book:
"We can't eat our cereal," said my sister, sadly.
"I don't see why not," said my father. "We've got plenty of cereal. There's Toastios and there's muesli. We have bowls. We have spoons. Spoons are excellent. Sort of like forks, only not as stabby."
There's some excellent Dad humour for ya!
Title: Fortunately, the Milk
Published: 2013
Pages: 110
Total Books Blogged: 20
Total Pages: 5956
So, later last night I was working on my stamp collection (yes, I'm a proud dork) at my desk, and suddenly, I noticed Fortunately, the Milk sitting there, waiting to be blogged. I had taken it on a trip to a friend's wedding, and finished it in about half an hour. But I hadn't gotten around to blogging it. I checked the top - 93873834. Yay! Book!
So I will quickly blog this book so that it can go back to the library prior to having fines attached to it.
I will precurse this review by saying that I have never read any of Neil Gaiman's books for adults. I picked up this book to see if G might like it, as his avid love of reading shows no sign of slowing down.
It was just OK. The story was a bit generic and lacked creativity. However, the artwork was incredible, and so for that alone I would recommend picking it up. It is short and sweet - I was very glad to have brought a second book on my trip, as I hadn't realized quite how quick a read it would be (I'll blog the other one soon, as I finished it as well!).
Favorite little bit of the book:
"We can't eat our cereal," said my sister, sadly.
"I don't see why not," said my father. "We've got plenty of cereal. There's Toastios and there's muesli. We have bowls. We have spoons. Spoons are excellent. Sort of like forks, only not as stabby."
There's some excellent Dad humour for ya!
Title: Fortunately, the Milk
Published: 2013
Pages: 110
Total Books Blogged: 20
Total Pages: 5956
Wednesday, 25 March 2015
Completed: The Year of Living Biblically by A. J. Jacobs
This book, unfortunately, does not live up to the title of my blog.
The subcaption of the title is The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible. As an archaeologist, it sounded like a very interesting thing to attempt. It was on my Amazon wishlist and was purchased for me by my sister as, I believe, a Christmas gift back a few years. I had several other books by the author on there too. Had.
This book divided me wholeheartedly. I would give it 2/5. The two stars are for some of the reflection that Jacobs did on religion and belief, and for some of his advisors along the way. One of the most interesting factoids that I took away from the book was the existence of the Jefferson Bible - here is how Jacobs described it, which has triggered enough interest in me to want to put this on my Amazon wishlist instead of Jacobs:
"[Jefferson] stripped away all the supernatural references [in the Bible]... Jefferson's idea was that Christ was a great moral philosopher. So Jefferson kept only Christ's moral teachings: forgiveness, loving thy neighbor, and striving for peace. He called them 'the most sublime and benevolent code of morals which has ever been offered to man.'" (p. 256)
Sounds like an awesome read.
The Year of Living Biblically also helped me to continue exploring two parallel issues in me. One is that I am not a religious person. The other is that I am fascinated by religious history and the history of the interaction of various belief systems. Jacobs, when discussing religion, keeps it legible for those of us who don't know it all, and makes it both interesting and relatable.
Jacobs' religious advisors along the way were all very wise and interesting to read about. I loved the perspective of Steven Greenberg, a gay rabbi that Jacobs chatted with. Here are his words, which I'd love for all of the people who use the Bible as an excuse for hate to read:
"Never blame a text from the Bible for your behavior. It's irresponsible. Anybody who says X, Y, and Z is in the Bible - it's as if one says 'I have no role in evaluating this.'" (p. 268)
Fantastic perspective, that people should really think, not just be sheep.
However.
He loses three stars for being a completely trite jerk, and for having one of the most unpleasant marriages I've ever had to read about . I'm shocked he wrote about it at all, to be honest.
My least favorite passage, one that still makes my skin crawl, is on pp. 273-275. He describes in detail how, in order to get back at his wife during spats, he keeps a damn list of her past mistakes on his phone. He literally says the following: "When I forgive, I file away the other person's wrongs for possible future use. It's forgiveness with an asterisk." There is no such thing as forgiveness with an asterisk, and it makes me want to stay ten feet away from him at all times, it's so slimy. His wife may laugh, as he states in the book, when he confesses about his list, but it just makes me squirm. Yuk.
His wife is no peach herself. While pregnant with twins, and her husband (our intrepid author) is interested in being intimate, her reply is "I can't think of anything I'd rather do less." (p. 285). Wow. I don't know if it's just my marriage, but I would never speak to my husband that way. She doesn't have to take him up on the offer, but being that mean about it? She also gags when Jacobs expresses how thankful he is for his family (p. 293). She just seems like the type of person that I would not want to be around.
Then there's her teary meltdown when she discovers that, in addition to her first son, she is pregnant with twin boys.
I have witnessed wonderful people struggle to conceive, despite their absolute desire to have children. They would be amazing parents, and it just won't happen for them. I've also known a woman who so wanted a girl that she would not hold her newborn second son. I am completely revolted by parents who are ungrateful for a healthy baby of either gender.
There's a lot here in this post. I had a lot of feelings around this book. I can say for sure that I don't want to read anymore of Jacobs' books, mostly because I find him and his wife to be such unsavoury people. But the religious part itself was enlightening, and enriching. So there you go - a very mixed review.
Title: The Year of Living Biblically - One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible
Published: 2008
Pages: 332
Total Books Blogged: 19
Total Pages: 5846
The subcaption of the title is The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible. As an archaeologist, it sounded like a very interesting thing to attempt. It was on my Amazon wishlist and was purchased for me by my sister as, I believe, a Christmas gift back a few years. I had several other books by the author on there too. Had.
This book divided me wholeheartedly. I would give it 2/5. The two stars are for some of the reflection that Jacobs did on religion and belief, and for some of his advisors along the way. One of the most interesting factoids that I took away from the book was the existence of the Jefferson Bible - here is how Jacobs described it, which has triggered enough interest in me to want to put this on my Amazon wishlist instead of Jacobs:
"[Jefferson] stripped away all the supernatural references [in the Bible]... Jefferson's idea was that Christ was a great moral philosopher. So Jefferson kept only Christ's moral teachings: forgiveness, loving thy neighbor, and striving for peace. He called them 'the most sublime and benevolent code of morals which has ever been offered to man.'" (p. 256)
Sounds like an awesome read.
The Year of Living Biblically also helped me to continue exploring two parallel issues in me. One is that I am not a religious person. The other is that I am fascinated by religious history and the history of the interaction of various belief systems. Jacobs, when discussing religion, keeps it legible for those of us who don't know it all, and makes it both interesting and relatable.
Jacobs' religious advisors along the way were all very wise and interesting to read about. I loved the perspective of Steven Greenberg, a gay rabbi that Jacobs chatted with. Here are his words, which I'd love for all of the people who use the Bible as an excuse for hate to read:
"Never blame a text from the Bible for your behavior. It's irresponsible. Anybody who says X, Y, and Z is in the Bible - it's as if one says 'I have no role in evaluating this.'" (p. 268)
Fantastic perspective, that people should really think, not just be sheep.
However.
He loses three stars for being a completely trite jerk, and for having one of the most unpleasant marriages I've ever had to read about . I'm shocked he wrote about it at all, to be honest.
My least favorite passage, one that still makes my skin crawl, is on pp. 273-275. He describes in detail how, in order to get back at his wife during spats, he keeps a damn list of her past mistakes on his phone. He literally says the following: "When I forgive, I file away the other person's wrongs for possible future use. It's forgiveness with an asterisk." There is no such thing as forgiveness with an asterisk, and it makes me want to stay ten feet away from him at all times, it's so slimy. His wife may laugh, as he states in the book, when he confesses about his list, but it just makes me squirm. Yuk.
His wife is no peach herself. While pregnant with twins, and her husband (our intrepid author) is interested in being intimate, her reply is "I can't think of anything I'd rather do less." (p. 285). Wow. I don't know if it's just my marriage, but I would never speak to my husband that way. She doesn't have to take him up on the offer, but being that mean about it? She also gags when Jacobs expresses how thankful he is for his family (p. 293). She just seems like the type of person that I would not want to be around.
Then there's her teary meltdown when she discovers that, in addition to her first son, she is pregnant with twin boys.
I have witnessed wonderful people struggle to conceive, despite their absolute desire to have children. They would be amazing parents, and it just won't happen for them. I've also known a woman who so wanted a girl that she would not hold her newborn second son. I am completely revolted by parents who are ungrateful for a healthy baby of either gender.
There's a lot here in this post. I had a lot of feelings around this book. I can say for sure that I don't want to read anymore of Jacobs' books, mostly because I find him and his wife to be such unsavoury people. But the religious part itself was enlightening, and enriching. So there you go - a very mixed review.
Title: The Year of Living Biblically - One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible
Published: 2008
Pages: 332
Total Books Blogged: 19
Total Pages: 5846
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